Driver of truck cited after jackknife fatality

November 30, 2006

McHENRY COUNTY — A Cicero truck driver was cited Wednesday for traffic violations after his flatbed semitrailer truck was involved in a collision that killed a Lake in the Hills man Tuesday, police said.

Merritt said Medina was driving south on Illinois Highway 31, going down a hill, when the truck jackknifed just south of Cary-Algonquin Road. The trailer hit a pickup truck driven by Schulman and a car driven by a 65-year-old man, both of whom were northbound on Illinois 31, Merritt said. The road was wet at the time, he said.

The driver's side of the pickup was heavily damaged, Merritt said. The driver of the car was not injured.

"It's a steep grade and braking or downshifting, even with an empty trailer, could have caused a jackknife in wet conditions," Merritt said.